The Auror Office: Capturing the Death Eaters
by Jack Irwin
Summary: Follow Harry through his journeys with the Auror Office. Since joining it in 1997, he has set up a small division that devotes itself to capturing every remaining Death Eater.
1. Chapter One:  Dolohov's Downfall

Chapter One – Dolohov's Downfall

Harry was dashing forwards in pursuit of the Death Eater. With Kingsley Shacklebolt right on his heels, urging him forward, he turned a corner into a deep, dark forest. It was here that he hesitated for a moment. He knew all too well that the few remaining Death Eaters used this forest as a sneaky hideout, away from the prying eyes of the ministry, and in particular, the Auror Office.

Shacklebolt reached him quickly, and without a moment's hesitation, overtook him and plunged into the depths of the disorientating forest. With an obvious note of incredulity in his voice, he called back at him, 'What are you doing, son? Get a move on! We can't afford to lose Dolohov again!'

Suddenly, a thought sprang to Harry's mind. This was the man who had murdered Lupin; Remus, the last living remnants of his father's life, besides him of course. Remus Lupin, who had taught him in his third year, who had cleared Sirius's name, and who was the last existing Marauder.

Bearing this thought in mind, Harry charged into the mysterious, endless tangle of trees and bushes that was the cowardly hideaway of Voldemort's last pitiful followers. 'Lumos,' Harry whispered to his wand. Immediately, it lit up, illuminating the dirty path before him. He began to sprint through the trees, making many turns here and there, penetrating the secrecy of the forest.

Running at a fast pace through the intertwining branches, taking very sharp intakes of breath, Harry reached a dead end. He quickly twisted around and ran back the way he came, again taking many turns. This time, instead of making a sharp left turn, he took an eventual right turn, which led him into an eerie clearing.

He heard an abrupt cracking noise. Hastily spinning around, heart racing, he saw that it was merely Kingsley, but then he saw his worried expression. It was then that Harry realised something disturbing: Shacklebolt's wand had broken. This meant that Harry was the only armed Auror.

'How did you manage that?' Harry said, attempting to stay level-headed, but without much success.

'I dropped it,' he said. 'And I stumbled onto it when I saw that.'

Harry saw that he was pointing at a particularly dirty patch of earth. He followed his arm, and pointed his wand tentatively at the bit of ground.

'Oh!' he exclaimed.

He was looking at something he most definitely did not expect to be seeing. It was, to his amazement, Mad-Eye Moody's eye. This worried Harry very much, as he had buried it sometime before he had defeated Voldemort.

He voiced his uncertainties. 'Kingsley,' Harry said with an aura of worry about him, 'I have no idea how that got there.'

'It must have been one of the filthy Death Eaters,' replied the deep, calming voice that Harry knew so well.

'But how did they find it, and why would they take it?'

'We'll have to ask Dolohov when we find him.'

'Okay.'

'Now we'll have to split up. I have no wand. I should go back.'

'Alright.'

After replying, Harry took a step forward, about to continue on his journey. Kingsley also took a step forward, and then twisted around and began to head back the way they came, out of the large, gloomy clearing. Since he had no wand, he really wasn't much help to Harry. He heard a resounding 'pop', and realised that Kingsley had disapparated, probably with the intent of returning to the office to notify them of their situation.

Now alone, he hurried onward, out of the clearing and back onto the filthy, deserted path. He wondered how the eye had gotten there, and why it had been taken. Many theories formed themselves in his mind's eye, yet he pushed them all aside, as he had to remain alert.

Suddenly, he became fully aware of his situation. He realised that he was alone, with a single wand, in a forest containing several ex-Death Eaters. Also pushing these thoughts aside, Harry persisted into the knots of leaves and vines for what seemed like an hour.

Finally, after being scratched and bruised countless times by low hanging branches, he heard hushed voices. Determined to eavesdrop and discover what they were secretively talking about, Harry moved silently towards them, like a predator towards its victim. He stood purposefully behind a large tree, hardly daring to breathe.

'–and did you hear about Lucius?' a thuggish voice whispered.

'How he was sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss?' a soft, greasy, emotionless voice replied. 'I don't care for him. He deserves what he was sentenced to. So does his wife and the boy, Draco. They were unfaithful to the Dark Lord, and they're merely receiving the punishments that he himself would have dealt to them if he hadn't been destroyed.'

'But they were on our side.'

'No, they weren't. They may have been standing by our sides physically, but they really only wanted to be hiding away like the cowards they were.'

'Well did you hear of Draco's fate? Or Narcissa's?'

'Yes. And I said before, they received their just desserts. Now move along. You might think we're alone, but I feel as if someone's watching.'

'I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's happened to the Malfoys. I deserve to know what's happened, I'm a Death Eater.'

'Step aside. I'm moving whether you like it or not.'

'Why?' said the voice, now with a tinge of anger.

'I've told you. I think we're being watched. _Homenum Revelio_.'

As the words left the Death Eater's lips, Harry jumped back from the tree and moved swiftly backwards. He held his wand in front of his torso in a defensive position, ready to fight if he had to.

'Well, well, well. I was correct, wasn't I?' said the soft, slippery voice. He had emerged from behind the other side of the tree, a nasty smile on his face. 'I told you we were being watched, Dolohov.'

At the sound of this name, a surge of fury coursed through Harry's body. This was the man who had taken Lupin's life. He hated him. He had wrecked Teddy's childhood, even his entire life. And he had destroyed the life of the man who had known his own father. As Dolohov walked slowly out from behind the tree, Harry realised that he wanted revenge – more revenge than he had wanted on Sirius Black when he had thought that he had betrayed his father.

'_Expelliarmus_!' Harry yelled into the night. The slippery-voiced man's wand shot out of his hand and into the sky and arched towards Harry, and he was able to catch it.

Immediately, Dolohov launched himself forward, the recent quarrel with his peer suddenly forgotten. 'I have him, Selwyn!' he snarled maliciously.

'No you don't!' Harry shouted. '_Expelliarmus_!' he screamed again.

Dolohov blocked the spell, and Selwyn dove into the cover of a particularly large bush, as he no longer had any other form of protection.

With the intent to make a counterattack, Dolohov aggressively shouted something odd-sounding, and a streak of purple flames issued from the tip of his wand.

Harry jumped aside in fright, and fell to the ground, rolling into a spiky bush. He knew these flames very well. In the battle he had fought in while in the Department of Mysteries in his fifth year, Dolohov had struck Hermione down using them.

Standing up indignantly, Harry thrust his arm before him, '_Expelliarmus_!'

Again, Dolohov blocked the spell with ease. It was ministry protocol to attempt to disarm an opponent before beginning to attack. After failing twice, Harry decided that now was that time.

'_Incarcerous_!' he cried.

To Harry's utter frustration, Dolohov deflected the spell. Resorting to more primitive, cruel spells, Harry began to attack endlessly. At this, his opponent became enraged and began to attack more aggressively.

Very soon, bursts of wand fire were shooting back and forth, constantly being blocked by each wizard.

'_Locomotor Mortis_!' Harry yelled, this time mustering as much force as he could. To Harry's absolute relief and delight, the spell hit his opponent's legs. Right away, they snapped together, and Dolohov fell flat on his back with a loud thud.

Harry cautiously moved towards him, wary of the fact that he was still armed, and could easily attack him. But it looked as if he had hit his head on a branch on his way towards the ground, and was unconscious.

After quickly pulling Dolohov's wand from between his fingers, Harry spun around so that he was facing the spot where Selwyn was cowering. Aiming unknowingly into the bush, Harry shouted, '_Stupefy_!'

He heard a wild rustle of leaves, and then nothing. Moving closer to the bush, he investigated Selwyn's hiding place. His eyes were open, and his body unmoving. Harry took hold of his wrist and heaved him towards Dolohov. Clutching both of them, he disapparated with a loud 'pop'.


	2. Chapter Two: Intriguing Interrogations

Chapter Two – Intriguing Interrogations

Harry hauled both of the Death Eater's unstirring bodies towards Kingsley, who was standing expectantly in his cubicle office in the middle of a large array of busy Ministry workers.

As Harry made his way over to him, Kingsley smiled. 'I'm glad to see you've caught them, son,' he said, with an obvious hint of satisfaction in his voice. 'That means two more ex-Death Eaters are unable to terrorise our community. Good job,' he rumbled, his deep voice easily calming Harry's anger at Dolohov and his companion.

'They put up a fight,' Harry panted, 'but I got them in the end.'

'Fantastic. That's your fourth successful capture, meaning you haven't yet failed to reach your goal,' Shacklebolt smiled.

'But I don't know if this means I'm a good Auror, or if I'm just determined to put all of the Death Eaters in Azkaban where they belong.'

'Harry, I've never seen a better Auror, and I'm not just saying that because you defeated the Dark Lord when you were seventeen.'

'Anyway, what's important is that we've caught them. Now Voldemort's faithful followers are few in numbers, and soon we'll have them all.'

'Yes. But what will we do with these two?'

'Send them to Azkaban with the rest,' Harry replied with satisfaction. 'But first I need to ask them about the eye.'

'What's so important about the eye?' Kingsley asked Harry suspiciously.

'I haven't told anyone this, but I buried Mad-Eye's eye under the oldest, most worn, most distorted tree I could find while I was travelling with Hermione and Ron. I didn't think anyone would find it, and I didn't want them to. It was the only trace of him we could find, remember? I wanted some part of him to be able to rest in peace. It's worrying that it's ended up in that forest. And the only reason I didn't pick it up was because it may have been cursed. The eye should take its own natural course now. I've done enough with it.'

'I agree. But we should investigate further into it. What would someone be doing with his eye?'

'I don't know. It sounds suspicious, though.'

'Okay, we'll wait for the Death Eaters to regain their consciousness, and then you can ask them if they've come across the eye. Remember, we have Veritaserum if we need it.'

'I like your mindset,' Harry said with a chuckle.

As these words left Harry's mouth, he saw Ron Weasley bounding excitedly from around a corner, and quickly slowing down as he saw Kingsley eyeing him reprovingly.

Ron still wasn't as accustomed to the bustling Ministry setting as Harry was, despite the fact that his father had worked there his entire adult life. He frequently came crashing into his small office cubicle, shouting something about a wide variety of things such as the sighting of a known Death Eater, or his recent marriage with Hermione.

Today, as Ron came walking into his cubicle, panting slightly, he was saying, in a voice louder than was necessary, 'So what have we got here, mate?'

'Two Death Eaters,' Harry said in response, smirking due to Ron's obliviousness.

'What're you sniggering at,' Ron asked, looking highly offended.

'Nothing,' Harry said between chuckles.

'Now that you're here, Ron,' Kingsley suddenly chimed in, 'you'll be able to help Harry with his investigation into the whereabouts of the people who stole Alastor Moody's eye.'

'Okay!' Ron said, rather overenthusiastically.

Just as he said this, Selwyn and Dolohov came to. They looked very groggy, but this was to be expected as they had both knocked their heads as they had fallen unconscious, and Harry wasn't worried in the least. They both looked up at him with watery eyes, imploring him to be merciful, as they knew he would be very uncompassionate. This greatly angered Harry, and he began to aggressively interrogate his captives.

'First of all, what were you doing in the forest? Our office has heard that you've denounced your allegiance to Voldemort, cowards.'

'We were looking for something,' said the soft, sleek voice of Selwyn, though it was now tinged with a perturbed tone.

'And what was that something, and who sent you to find it?' said Harry angrily.

'We were told not to tell anyone, especially not Aurors, and we don't intend to either.'

'You will if you know what's good for you. At the moment, you're facing the prospect of a lifetime in Azkaban. And if you don't tell us what we want to know, you'll receive the Dementor's Kiss.'

'Either way, we'll be losing our minds,' said Dolohov in his harsh voice.

'You'll also be losing your minds if you don't give us the information we want,' Harry threatened.

'We were given precise orders –' began Selwyn.

'I don't care!' Harry cut across in frustration. He briskly walked to his cluttered desk, and retrieved a tiny vile of a clear substance. 'If you won't tell me at your own will, I'll make you.'

'Go ahead,' said Dolohov thuggishly.

Kingsley yelled, '_Incarcerous_!' and the Death Eaters were suddenly tightly bound in thin cords. Restrained, they were unable to protest as Harry uncorked the minute vile and held it over each of their mouths, tipping several small drops into them in turn. No physical change occurred as they ingested the poison, but Harry knew what would happen when they were asked a question.

'Now, let's try again,' he said. 'What were you looking for in that forest?'

'Alastor Moody's false eye,' Selwyn replied automatically.

'And why were you looking for it?'

'We don't know. The Carrows were very vague when they set us our task.'

'Fine. What do you think the Carrows wanted with it?'

'We've heard rumours that it has powerful magical qualities.'

'Fine,' Harry repeated, though he now realised that he made a horrible mistake in leaving the eye in the forest.

Deciding that his interrogation was over, Harry now addressed Kingsley. 'Instruct the Azkaban guards to take this filth away, please Kingsley. Ron and I will be on our way to investigate the eye.'

'Okay,' he answered in an amused tone. 'Taking instructions from my own workers,' he tutted with a smile as he seized the Death Eaters.

At this, Harry quickly stood up, and together, he and Ron made their way towards the door, grabbing their Auror Office-emblazoned cloaks as they passed the coat rack. They opened the ornate door, and began to stroll apparently calmly out of the office, closing it with a snap on their way out. Although walking on the pretence of calmness, Ron could hardly suppress an excited exclamation.

'I love doing practical work for the office!' he said eagerly.

'Ron, you've been doing this for years now,' Harry replied bemusedly.

'I know, but after the catastrophe with Travers last year, I've wanted to prove myself to Shacklebolt. He seems to think I'm incapable of doing my job.'


	3. Chapter Three: The Elusive Eye

Chapter Three – The Elusive Eye

Harry and Ron exited the Ministry, now increasing their pace slightly, aware of the fact that the eye was lying in the Death Eater's forest. They walked together down the busy muggle street, which was packed with bustling women and their children who were out for a day's shopping, distracted non-magic men on their ways to work, and wizards and witches, who, like Harry and Ron, worked for the ministry.

As they passed a vaguely familiar witch wearing a pointed purple witch's hat, she waved to them cheerily, and they waved absentmindedly back. Reaching the mouth of a deserted, dirty alleyway, they turned cautiously into it, keeping their eyes on busybody pedestrians all the while.

Now out of the view of prying muggle eyes, Harry and Ron disapparated. They suddenly appeared in the large mouth of the Death Eater's filthy, dark forest, where Harry had been only an hour previously. Hastening forward into it, Harry pulled his wand out of the deep pocket in his Ministry coat and held it out in front of his chest, tip pointing ahead. '_Lumos_,' he muttered. Ron followed suit, and moments later they were both armed and plunging into the heart of the woods, their path illuminated by the tips of their wands.

'Harry,' whispered Ron, 'you know which way we're going, don't you?'

'Yes, Ron,' Harry replied perplexedly. 'I was here just a moment ago, remember?'

'Oh, yeah. That's right.'

Harry didn't charge rapidly into the forest this time. He didn't want to follow the same path that he had originally followed last time, so he kept one wary eye on his surroundings, and the other on the lookout for Death Eaters who could be lurking further up the dusty trail. Ron, trying to seem impressive, as he always did, once again fell into place and copied him.

As they advanced noiselessly into the gloomy, motionless woods for what seemed like hours, nothing happened. The two Aurors were left untouched, apart from the many scratches they obtained whilst walking, and they reached the creepy clearing without any hindrances. They now slowed their pace. Apprehensively combing the ground with their sharp eyes, bright wand tips pointed towards the forest floor, they searched for the eye for several moments.

Harry attempted to retrace his steps, but he had already forgotten the exact path he had taken. Now growing impatient, Harry merely said, '_Accio Mad-Eye's eye_!' To his displeasure, nothing happened, though he had anticipated this. He continued his investigation, but to no avail. He ran into Ron as they both reached the middle of the clearing.

'Found anything, mate?' Ron asked pessimistically.

'Nope,' Harry replied, also gloomily. 'I knew someone would have taken it. I can't believe I left it here. I thought I was doing the right thing, letting it take its natural path.'

'You didn't know that it was being looked for by the Death Eaters. Don't get down on yourself,' Ron said, pleading Harry to be hopeful.

'We should get back to the Ministry and tell them the eye's gone.'

'Alright.'

Deciding not to walk needlessly back through the dangerous forest, Harry and Ron disapparated again, and instantaneously they were back in the grubby alleyway from which they had disapparated just hours before. '_Nox_,' they said in unison, causing the dim lights at the ends of their wands to go out.

They began to dawdle towards the Ministry, anxious about having to admit to Shacklebolt that the eye had disappeared. They pushed their way through the throng of pedestrians, eventually reaching their destination.

The door to the Auror office opened just as Harry held his sweaty hand out for the adorned brass doorknob. Dawlish toddled out, giving the duo a curt wave as he did so. Ron quickly threw his hand out and caught the door, then allowed Harry to pass through before hastily entering himself. The door closed shut behind him with a resounding bang.

'Harry, Ron,' Kingsley's deep voice rumbled instantly from his office. The slamming door had alerted him to their return. 'Did you get what you were sent for?'

'Sorry, Kingsley,' Harry replied. 'It was gone. I should have taken it when I was there with you.'

'Not to worry, my boy. We already have a lead on the Carrows. As I was escorting Dolohov and Selwyn to the guards' chambers, they confessed their last known whereabouts.'

'And?' Ron asked. 'Where are they?'

'The Riddle House.'

'But how are they in there?' Harry cried in outrage. 'I thought it was torn down!'

'So did I!' Ron exclaimed.

'No. That was the original plan, but the truth is that the team we sent to destroy it disappeared. We haven't heard from them in months.'

'Well why hasn't someone been sent to find them?'

'Many people have. We've kept is hushed up, away from the _Daily Prophet_, but we still haven't found them. We suspect the Carrows. Our office has come to the conclusion that the Death Eaters caught up with them and they were murdered. We should have sent Aurors to complete the task.'

'Well, if we want the Carrows, all we need to do is disapparate to Little Hangleton.'

'Yes, but the house is well-protected. There are innumerable protective enchantments surrounding the house. It'll take an entire team of Aurors to penetrate it.'

'Well we're up for it!' Ron said passionately.

'Okay. I'll put you two and Dawlish on the job. I believe in you. You defeated Voldemort, and I encourage your determination to catch the last of the escaped Death Eaters. Just don't overdo it. This task isn't worth your life.'

Harry and Ron turned to each other with eager looks on their bright faces. It was time for another battle.


	4. Chapter Four: Troubles in the Office

Chapter Four – Troubles in the Office

Harry and Ron warily approached the seemingly-abandoned Riddle House, John Dawlish, tired and withered-looking, by their side. They could see the house as the only enchantments placed around it were Protego Totalum and Salvio Hexia, to defend against charms, spells and hexes, which they learned from Kingsley before they had departed.

They had also been explicitly told that the Protective Enchantments had been conjured around the house in a twenty meter radius, making it very difficult to penetrate. This didn't intimidate the Aurors in the slightest. They persisted towards the manor that used to be Voldemort's headquarters, and very soon they were standing at the very edge of the enchantments.

'Take out your Omnioculars,' Harry said.

Though typically used for viewing Quidditch matches, the Auror Office had recently realised how useful they really were. They could use them to magically magnify faraway scenes, and then slow them down, or even replay them.

Harry reached deeply into his cloak pocket, and pulled out his pair. They were the same ones he had bought at the 422nd Quidditch World Cup, and were now very rugged-looking.

He looked around and saw Ron also removing his from his cloak pocket. Spinning around, he saw Dawlish doing the same.

'Okay, look towards the house.'

'We know,' said Dawlish, a very obvious note of impatience in his voice.

Since Harry had begun his job, he had, in Dawlish's eyes, been favoured by Kingsley. Harry believed that this was utter nonsense. He knew that Shacklebolt would never do anything of the sort, even if he had defeated the Dark Lord. During a usual day in the office, Dawlish would find some petty reason to belittle him, which was extremely annoying. This resulted in a very large gap between the two Aurors, which made it exceedingly difficult for them to work together.

During Harry's early years, Kingsley would always push them together in an attempt to develop peace, although he had never succeeded. Now, after many years, he didn't even mention the fact that they greatly disliked each other.

'Fine,' replied Harry, annoyed. At this, Dawlish began to fiddle with the knobs on his Omnioculars, seemingly determined to ignore anything Harry said.

Now only addressing Ron, Harry said, 'We don't need to replay anything, mate. Just turn the little dial and it'll slow everything down.'

'Alright.'

The two Aurors now began to tinker with their own Omnioculars. Finally adjusting them to the settings they desired, they held them up to their eyes and peered through them.

They could see nothing yet. Gazing carefully through them, they strained their eyes in an attempt to see what was occurring inside the Riddle House.

Harry suddenly saw slight movements through a window on the ground level. He zoomed in using a large knob on the left side of his Omnioculars. He could now make out a vague shape pacing around a large, decorated-looking room. He zoomed in further and found that he could easily describe the shape.

He was a man, but not as plump as Amycus Carrow. He was rather taller, too, and his hair wasn't quite the same.

Harry twisted the knob once again. This time the shape came into perfect focus, and he could see the image of a man that was as clear as if he was standing directly before him.

Harry was very confused. He staggered backwards slightly and let his hand fall to his side. How could this be? He held the Omnioculars up to his eyes again, this time looking though them very vigilantly, straining his eyes as much as possible. He saw the same man. This really couldn't be possible.

'Ron!' he cried perplexedly. 'Ron, come here, quickly!'

'What is it, mate?' he called apprehensively, swiftly hastening towards him. 'What's wrong?'

'Look through that window,' Harry replied, 'and tell me what you see.'

'What – why?'

'Just do it, and tell me what you see. I'm probably out of my mind.'

At this, Ron, looking very uneasy, held his pair of Omnioculars up to his eyes. Harry watched anxiously as Ron's mouth dropped open. He knew he had seen the same as he had.

Ron uttered something incomprehensible, which left Harry with no doubts.

'Did you see him?'

Ron slowly lowered the Omnioculars, an expression of horror on his face. 'Yes, but how – how can it be? How's he there?'

They had both seen Dolohov. But how? How was he here, in this dilapidated house, when he was meant to be in the custody of the Azkaban guards?

'Does this mean Kingsley –' Ron began, before Harry cut him off.

'Yes,' Harry answered, already knowing what Ron was thinking.

They turned to each other, troubled looks on both of their faces. At the same time, they bellowed, 'Dawlish!' They had to have it confirmed.

'Dawlish,' Harry said, as he slowly, grudgingly, approached them. 'Look through your Omnioculars at that window. Tell us what you see.'

'_Please_,' Ron added, snarling at the Auror.

'Fine. Just let me adjust it,' he retorted with a juvenile sneer.

Harry and Ron stood waiting impatiently for what seemed like five minutes. Finally, Dawlish, who had merely been twiddling knobs and dials, straightened up, insolently sniggering at them. He placed the rims of the Omnioculars to his eyes, and looked towards the house. For several moments, he stared, and then a slight gasp issued from his mouth.

Satisfied with Dawlish's surprised reaction, Harry began to voice his many uncertainties.

'How did Dolohov get in there?' he asked, without expecting an answer. 'What happened to Kingsley?'

'Someone might have infiltrated the Auror Office, or even the Azkaban guards' system,' replied Dawlish reluctantly. Harry knew that he would partake in the conversation because it was his duty.

'What if Kingsley isn't Kingsley,' said Ron. 'Maybe he used Polyjuice Potion. It wouldn't be the first time a great Auror has been captured and replaced by a Death Eater.'

'You could both be right,' Harry said. 'But that's not a good thing. I don't want to return to the office to find a fake Kingsley slaughtering the other Aurors.'

Ron murmured his agreement, and Dawlish nodded. Harry continued.

'We should apparate back at the Ministry. We can finish this job later. The safety of our boss is more important. We need to get to the bottom of this.'

Ron nodded, and Dawlish grunted again.

Taking these acknowledgements as agreements, Harry began to walk hastily away from the Riddle House. His fellow Aurors followed suit, and soon they had walked quite a distance away from it. With three distinct popping noises, they disapparated back to the street outside the Ministry. Each of them was dreading what lay inside.


	5. Chapter Five: The Auror's Revelations

Chapter Five – The Auror's Revelation

The three Aurors strode swiftly down the ornate corridor that led to the decorated door of their office. Reaching it, Harry hesitated before he grasped the knob, turned it, and pulled.

What lay before them was absolutely ordinary. There was nothing out of the usual occurring within the Auror Office. Busy workers bustled through it, snatching things off desks here and there, quickly scratching notices on them, and hastily throwing them back onto the desks from which they were taken.

Harry, Ron and Dawlish traipsed forward apparently casually; they took up their customary places behind their wooden desks, picked up their quills and began to scratch away in an effort to disguise their suspicion.

After several moments of aimless scratching, Harry glanced up at Kingsley, or the possible imposter, for a moment. Already deciding to end the unnecessary charade, Harry stood up and walked confidently towards his boss. He held his wand out before and waved it briefly, before Kingsley could stop him, resulting in long, thin cords to erupt from the tip. They wound themselves tightly around the man, pinning his arms to his sides and causing his legs to snap together. Ron and Dawlish dashed towards the two men with worried expressions on their faces. This wasn't supposed to happen.

'What was the first thing I told you when I entered this office?' Harry asked, attempting to implement a calm tone.

'What is this, boy?' Kingsley retorted, obviously, Harry thought, trying to avoid answering his question.

'Answer me,' Harry said.

'You told me that you were nervous. That you weren't sure if this was the right job for you.'

'Sorry,' Harry replied as he strolled towards his desk, suddenly feeling a sense of underlying reassurance. He knew he had made the right choice.

He seized a small vile of a clear substance, and immediately the intruder's expression changed to one of panic.

Striding briskly back to the bound and helpless man, Harry uncorked the vile, careful not to spill any on the elaborate carpet.

Assertively approaching the man, Harry began to ponder his decision. He was sure this wasn't Kingsley. He hadn't known the correct answer to his question, and the real Kingsley had said he would always remember what he had told him.

He stood over the now cowering man and warily tipped the vile until it was at a slight angle, allowing several drops of the liquid to fall into his mouth, which was being magically held open by Ron.

The entire Auror Office was now watching on as the fraud squirmed powerlessly.

'Now tell me,' Harry said with a snarl, his face now particularly close to the intruder's, 'who you are.'

'Amycus Carrow,' he said through gritted teeth.

The Auror Office released a collective gasp. They were accustomed to outrageous things occurring throughout their lifetimes, but the replacement of their boss by a known Death Eater was, evidently, not one of them.

'What are you doing here?' Harry replied, teeth bared.

'Keep –' he struggled against his bonds. 'Keeping track of the eye,' he finished.

'Why?' Harry asked, disgusted.

'Magica –' he thrashed about again. 'Magical prop – properties.'

'What kind of properties?'

'You know them,' he said nastily. 'It can see through solid objects and invisibility cloaks.'

'But why would you want that? What're you doing?'

'We have a job to do and we're trying to break into Gringotts to do it.'

'Is that all? You're a fool. You're all fools. You have no chance of breaking into the second most secure place in England. Now tell me. What were you trying to steal? Answer me!'

'We were trying to steal something that belonged to our master.'

Carrow had given up on trying to break free of his magical bonds.

'What was it?'

'It was – it was his locket.'

'Fool! I've seen the locket. My friends and I destroyed it years ago. It's gone. Slytherin's last remaining possession is gone.'

'No, no, no,' he smirked. Harry guessed that Carrow was thinking he had the upper hand now, even though he was the coward who was tightly bound and under the influence of Veritaserum. 'It isn't Slytherin's locket. It's the Dark Lord's. He made it.'

'What? That's a load of rubbish.'

'Oh, is it really? You're just scared. You just don't want any traces of the Dark Lord to remain intact.'

'You're lying. And if it is real, we'll find it and remove it to have it destroyed. Now tell me what magical properties it has.'

'We don't know anything about it. The Dark Lord told us to keep it safe. He knew he was going to die that day you killed him. That was a part of his plan. He didn't trust us much, but he knew what he had to do.'

'You're lying again. Voldemort would never do that. He was selfish and evil. He trusted none of you.'

'We know,' Carrow admitted grudgingly. 'He only left the task to us out of desperation. He had no other choice.'

'Where's the locket kept?'

'I hear you've been there. It's in the vault farthest beneath the ground.'

Immediately after these words reached his ears, Harry spun around, suddenly quite sure of himself, and addressed Dawlish. 'Take him away, will you?'

'Fine,' he responded resentfully.

Dawlish pulled the Death Eater to his feet and pushed him into the corridor outside. He summoned several other Aurors to accompany him just in case a situation arose in which he would need reinforcements.

As the small assortment of people moved quickly out of the office, Harry turned to Ron as their counterparts began to continue their scratching.

'What was that about?' said Ron incredulously. 'Why're you so confident?'

'Because I know they won't be able to reach the locket.'

'How do you know that?'

'They're idiots. They haven't got a clue.'

'But how do you know they won't get Voldemort's locket? They could get lucky. Or – wait! They might be friendly with someone on the inside!'

'Don't be stupid. You're over thinking things. Anyway, we can go to Gringotts and get it. But I must admit, the goblins should have told us about it by now. I thought we'd gained their trust.'

'But the Death Eaters could get it!' Ron insisted. 'What would you do if they did? If it's Voldemort's, it could be really dangerous.'

'They won't get it. We'll even send Aurors there to find it. We can even go there and find it! I've already told you.'

'Alright, mate.'

'Anyway, we have far more serious matters to worry about. Like the whereabouts of Kingsley. We need him back so he can tell us what we need to do.'

The two Aurors were just turning to exit the office when a colleague suddenly spoke.

'They tortured me, okay!' the Auror shouted desperately.

Harry and Ron twisted very rapidly around. They saw a young, weedy man with dark brown hair and eyes. He looked tremendously troubled.

'What're you talking about?' said Harry, his confidence now melting away.

'The Carrows. They told me they'd hurt me and my family if I told anyone anything.'

'Anything about what?' Ron said angrily.

'About Kingsley. About his disappearance. I overheard the Carrows speaking when I was sent to capture them about a month ago. They were making plans about – about Kingsley's replacement. They were arguing between themselves about who would replace him. When they realised I was listening, they threatened me. They couldn't allow me to return here and tell you about them, but they couldn't not let me come back either. That would've looked suspicious.'

'So you've known this whole time?' said Harry disbelievingly.

'Y – yes,' the Auror stuttered.

'It's your duty to protect our people!' yelled Ron aggressively.

'Do you know where he is now?' asked Harry, trying to employ a tone of composure.

'Probably in the Riddle manor,' said Ron.

'Well, I think I know where he is. He might have been moved. He's been hidden in the – the Shrieking Shack.'

'The WHAT?' Harry and Ron cried in synchronisation.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier! I was trying to protect my family!' said the scrawny Auror fearfully.

Ignoring his pleas, Harry and Ron simultaneously spun around to face the door once again. Before exiting, Harry commanded a group of four Aurors to disapparate to Diagon Alley immediately. Then, in unison, they marched through it into the corridor beyond and continued out onto the street, where they twisted and vanished once more.


	6. Chapter Six: The Shrieking Shack

Chapter Six – The Shrieking Shack

Harry and Ron suddenly appeared in the quaint wizarding village of Hogsmeade. Everything in the town was exactly the same as they remembered it from their school years. The local pub, the Three Broomsticks, was exceptionally rowdy, as it always had been; the sweetshop, Honeydukes, was just as full of delicious-looking treats; the post office was filled to bursting point with a huge variety of screeching owls; and Zonko's, the second most successful joke shop, was crammed full of multicoloured novelties and tricks.

Smiling, they spun around where they stood to face the path that led to Hogwarts castle. Preparing themselves for the rather short walk up to the castle gates, they took off, boots producing a clacking sound as they hit the concrete beneath them.

As they slowly traipsed towards their old school, the site of the Second Wizarding War and Voldemort's defeat, a very familiar face appeared out of the doorway of the Three Broomsticks.

'Hagrid!' the two Aurors yelled at once.

The giant's head immediately flicked over to see the two men standing in the middle of the cobbled street.

'Harry! Ron!' he boomed in delight.

Harry could tell straight away that he was drunk.

Hagrid lumbered forwards, thick arms out before him. Harry, although now a fully grown man, prepared himself for a bone crushing hug, and, sensing Ron's immediate tension beside him, assumed that he too was readying himself.

Embracing them, Hagrid began to recall the many adventures that Harry, Ron and Hermione had had while at school and beyond. They merely nodded and grinned at the things he was saying, as they felt they were running out of time to find Kingsley.

'We really have to go, Hagrid,' said Ron tentatively after several minutes of his drunken rant.

'Go?' grunted the giant incredulously. 'Go where? I thought you was here ter see me.'

'We can talk another time,' Harry chimed in. 'We're really busy at the moment, and we're on official Ministry business,' he added, despising himself for sounding so much like Ron's older brother, Percy.

'Alrigh',' Hagrid replied, surprised.

At this, Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and began to walk briskly up the stone path.

'Thank god,' Ron muttered. 'Hagrid's okay when he's sober, but not when he's like that.'

'Yeah.'

'So why are we going up to the castle?'

'Well we should ask McGonagall for permission to go into the Shrieking Shack, shouldn't we?'

'Okay, but we need to be quick.'

They were now at the marvellous front gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry looked up towards the many turrets and towers. He smiled to himself when he realised that he was home again.

The swift rustling of shoes upon grass alerted Harry to the fact that the headmistress, Professor McGonagall, was hurrying towards them.

'It's good to see you, boys,' she said with a small smile.

'You too, Professor,' Harry grinned.

'Really, Potter. You can call me Minerva.'

'No thanks, Professor,' Harry replied. He was uncomfortable with the idea of calling his old Transfiguration teacher by her first name.

'You're not here to see me, surely? You must be busy.'

'We are busy,' Ron said. 'We'd like to ask for your permission to enter the Shrieking Shack,' he added importantly.

'You may.' She waved her wand and the castle gates swung open with a resonant creak.

Unspeaking, the two wizards and aged witch walked slowly up the castle path. Upon walking past the Whomping Willow, Harry and Ron turned awkwardly away from the witch, murmuring, 'Bye, Professor.'

As Minerva McGonagall continued on her way, Harry approached the now forlorn-looking tree. It looked far worse than it ever had. It had lost several branches in the few short years Harry and Ron had been away, and many chunks of bark were missing.

It seemed to have lost its will, as it was merely flailing its branches without much spirit, which Harry was very glad for.

Nevertheless, the knot near the bottom of the trunk was still remaining. Harry conjured a long, pointy-ended branch out of thin air and, with a thrust of his wand, caused it to fly directly into the little knot, immobilising the aimlessly flailing branches. The wizards rushed forwards and dove into the very small hole that was the entrance to the hidden passageway that led to the Shrieking Shack.

This passage was already extremely filthy when Harry, Ron and Hermione had entered it in their third year. It was now mouldy, and so dusty that it caused both Harry and Ron to sneeze without end.

Harry removed his wand from the pocket of his jeans, held it before him, and said, '_Lumos_!'

Ron followed suit.

They embarked on their long journey doubled-over, inching slowly forwards. The mould on the walls brushed against them very often, and they soon became itchy.

Just as they were tiring, they reached a set of grimy, rotting wooden steps. They climbed these, just as they had many years ago, and they soon found themselves in the hallway in which they had been on that same occasion.

'What do we do now?' Ron asked Harry.

'What d'you think? We find Kingsley.'

They split up and began to enter rooms on either side of the decaying hallway.

Harry entered a room that was covered in a thick layer of a greasy, dark grey substance. It smelled absolutely foul. After rapidly ensuring that Kingsley wasn't in this room, he turned on his heel and exited it.

Continuing onto the next room, Harry wondered if Kingsley was still anywhere in the house.

After a number of minutes of hasty searching, Ron called out, 'Harry! In here! Quick!'

'_Point me_,' Harry said to his wand. It flicked to the right, and Harry followed its directions until he stood in the doorway of another unclean room.

'Harry,' said Ron, realising that his companion was now in the room. 'Kingsley's there,' he told him, pointing towards the corner of the room.

Harry spun around and saw Kingsley in a corner. He looked perfectly fine.

'What did they do to you?'

'Nothing,' boomed Kingsley. 'They said they didn't want to hurt me. They only wanted to replace me.'

Harry waved his wand again, this time producing a vile of Veritaserum out of nothing.

As Ron magically forced Kingsley's mouth open, Harry emptied several droplets of the liquid into it. He shuddered slightly, then became quite still.

'Are you Kingsley?' Harry asked determinedly.

'No,' he mumbled.

Ron shot Harry a disbelieving look.

'Who are you?' Ron asked.

'Alect – Alecto Carrow,' Kingsley's imposter managed to say.

'WHERE'S KINGSLEY?'

'I DON'T KNOW. IN ANOTHER ROOM.'

'_Homenum Revelio_,' Ron muttered, remembering the spell Hermione used regularly.

A reddish glow erupted from the tip of his wand, and it soared high above their heads and out of the room. Ron hastily ran after it.

With a flick of his wrist, long, thin cords exploded out of the end of Harry's wand once more, wrapping themselves very tightly around the squirming doppelganger.

Once these were tied securely around the fraud, Harry left the room in pursuit of Ron.

They met each other in an upstairs room, which was just as dirty as every other room in the house.

Immediately, before properly inspecting the room, Harry dashed forward and let several drops of the fluid fall into the man's mouth.

'Are you Kingsley?'

'Yes. Have you seen the Carrows? Where are they?'

It was now that Harry realised that Kingsley had willingly let his mouth fall open to allow the potion to enter it. Now inspecting his surroundings, Harry realised that a large coil of thin cords was lying next to the man.

'We need to leave,' Kingsley told the Aurors. 'Get Alecto Carrow and go. Disapparate.'

'Okay,' Harry replied, as Ron nodded. 'So we don't need to investigate?'

'No, we don't. We're done here. Don't ask me to explain how I was taken.'

'Ron, we'll get the Carrow.'

As Harry and Ron left the room, Kingsley twisted and disappeared.

Very soon, the two wizards had returned to the room where Alecto lay. Grabbing her bonds, Harry also twisted, Ron copying him by his side, and once again, they vanished.


	7. Chapter Seven: Voldemort's Treasure

Chapter Seven – Voldemort's Treasure

As Harry silently approached the office door with Alecto Carrow sliding quietly along the floor behind him, Ron by her side, incomprehensible sounds drifted towards his ears. They sounded like words.

As they drew nearer, the words began to become clear, and Harry could make out a conversation without much difficulty. Instead of entering the office immediately, he decided to linger at the door and eavesdrop.

'Why wasn't anyone stationed at Gringotts?' boomed a voice that was obviously Kingsley's.

'We were,' came Dawlish's agitated voice. 'There were four of us.'

'Then how did the Death Eaters get that locket?'

Ron pushed past Harry and, before he could be stopped, yanked the door open. It swung backwards and, with an extremely loud 'bang', hit the wall beside the spot where Harry was tentatively standing. Both Kingsley and Dawlish swung around to face them.

Harry watched in silence as a heated argument broke out.

'The Death Eaters got that locket?' Ron yelled, his voice full of rage.

Dawlish approached him irritably.

'They stunned us. We couldn't do anything. They attacked us while we were facing the other way. We're lucky they didn't kill us.'

'We need to find them,' Ron said, ignoring the Auror's remarks.

'We have no leads, Weasley. How can we find them without leads?'

'We have the Riddle House. Dolohov was there, remember?'

'Fine. I'll send you, Potter and a few others to raid the manor. Dawlish will stay here.'

Ron grunted.

'Why do you want this locket anyway?'

'I –' he faltered. 'I don't want Voldemort back. You all know what happened to my family last time.'

'Fair enough.'

Ron tensely spun on his heel, walked away from the Aurors, and rejoined Harry.

Speaking up, Harry said, 'Here's the Carrow. Make sure you personally take her to the guards. Don't let her get away.'

As Harry left the room, Ron walking behind him, he could here Kingsley instructing a group of Aurors to follow them.

'D'you think this will be a battle?' Ron asked Harry uncertainly.

'Maybe. We just need to worry about getting that locket. We don't know what it does.'

'It better not bring Voldemort back.'

'I don't think that's possible.'

'Okay,' Ron replied, still uneasy.

As they were just exiting the Ministry once again, all five Aurors twisted and disappeared. They had no time to waste.

The small collection of Aurors crept stealthily towards the Riddle manor. They were planning to surround the large building before they entered for their attack. To do this, Harry knew they would have to use powerful spells to negate the effects of the protective enchantments, but they were trained Aurors. They could handle the task.

'Okay, you all know what we need to do,' Harry whispered to his colleagues. 'Once we split up, destroy their defence.'

After hearing several quiet grunts and words of acknowledgement, Harry walked away, indicating the others should do the same.

Harry quickly reached the far side of the house, and he held his wand before him, ready to make his attack. Focusing, an orange light burst from the end of his wand and connected with the enchantments. Several faint glows that suddenly appeared around him implied that his fellow Aurors had done the same.

After several minutes of intense concentration, the charms surrounding the house began to melt away.

Harry cautiously crossed the remainder of the enchantments, and began to approach the manor once more. He silently took several steps, and found himself beneath the sill of a dark window. He thought hard as to the spell he was going to use to enter the house. He flicked his wand and vanished.

Harry emerged silently in the darkened room that was previously in front of him, and he crouched low, avoiding the eyes of Death Eaters who could appear without warning. Careful not to make noise, he slowly inched forwards towards an open door that presumably led to the next room.

After what seemed like many long moments, Harry found himself in the next room. He waved his wand, and the same reddish glow that had erupted from Ron's wand exploded from his own. Harry knew it was invisible to the Death Eaters, as the Aurors had made it that way, but he couldn't help but feel as if they would somehow spot it. Nevertheless, he followed the light, and very soon it entered another room, alerting Harry to the fact that there were people within it. It then disappeared.

Harry knew that his colleagues were also hiding behind various doors, but he took several moments to prepare himself for the prospective battle.

They had no idea who was in this room, nor how many of them were Death Eaters. They had captured the Carrows, but Dolohov, Selwyn and several others were still free, and they could have recruited new members.

Deciding his few moments had expired, Harry pushed open the door before him and held his wand out in front of his torso.

He swiftly assessed the situation before him, and saw that Dolohov, Selwyn, Avery, Macnair, and Mulciber were in deep conversation, a small wooden table in between them, a large locket delicately placed upon it. Immediately, they jumped up from their seats, confused, and pulled their wands from their own pockets. The Aurors who were surrounding the room entered it, and also drew their weapons.

Curses and hexes began to fly through the air, constantly being blocked by their potential victims. Multicoloured flashes continually missed Harry only narrowly, and he was afraid that some of them belonged to his allies.

Finally, an orange-coloured curse hit Avery in the middle of the chest, and he keeled over backwards, suddenly unmoving. At the same time, a green curse hit a young Auror whom Harry was slightly familiar with, and he too fell to the floor, no longer moving. Harry didn't have time to worry about this, though. Selwyn was approaching, furiously flicking his wand. Harry managed to dodge each of his spells, each of them hitting the wall behind him and rebounding.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw a red spell hit Ron squarely in the face. In his anger, Harry waved his wand and a flash of bright green burst from the tip. It connected with Selwyn's stomach, and he also fell to the ground, his eyes open, unstaring.

Harry now turned to his right, where an aged Auror was duelling fiercely with Dolohov. Streaks of purple were shooting out of the end of the Death Eater's wand, and he was laughing madly. Harry made a swishing motion with his wand, and another flash of green shot from the end, however it missed its target. Again, he waved his wand, and this time the curse struck the Death Eater's chest. His body cascaded backwards, hitting the table on its descent.

Together, Harry and the aged Auror rounded on Mulciber, while the other remaining Auror fought Macnair.

The thickness of the flying spells was now diminished, and Harry found it easier to focus on his duel.

A low shout told Harry that Macnair had won the duel with the other Auror, and that he had now turned to face him. Harry also turned, wand held ready in his hand.

They began to fight, and soon more curses were illuminating the dreary walls of the room. The aged Auror appeared beside him, and soon Macnair was also lying on the floor, his wand now several meters away from his twitching hand. The Auror's opponent lay dead on the floor behind them.

'Ron!' Harry yelled. 'Ron!'

He moved apprehensively towards his shaking body, fear and worry rising in his knotted stomach. 'Ron, don't be dead,' he murmured as the other Auror traipsed silently through the room, checking the bodies for pulses. '_Accio locket_,' he added, and Voldemort's large locket flew through the air. Harry fumbled with it in his shaking hand, and then dropped it.

Ron's body stopped twitching. 'Ron!' Harry shouted again.

Harry watched as Ron rolled onto his side. 'Ron, you're fine.'

'I'm not. Get me to Saint Mungo's.'

Harry quickly grabbed Ron by his shirt and disapparated.

They appeared in front of the receptionist's desk in Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

'Take him. He's been cursed,' Harry muttered. 'He's dying.'

Before she could respond, Harry disapparated once again, and reappeared in the room full of dead bodies.

'Four dead Death Eaters, and two dead Aurors,' the old Auror said.

'Which Death Eater survived?'

'Macnair.'

'I need to get back to the Ministry,' Harry said. 'Please clean this up. I'll take the Death Eater.'

As the Auror nodded, Harry grasped Macnair's wrist, said, '_Accio locket_,' once more, caught it, then twisted and disappeared.


End file.
